Ban the single use plastic bag New Hampshire!

 Americans use 100 billion plastic bags a year but only recycle about 3% of them.

 We use millions of gallons of petroleum to make them when we could use this finite resource for more important things.

 They are a hazard to wildlife on land and at sea, and as they break down they are a hazard to our health.

Therefore, I support the reduction of single-use carryout plastic bags in the State of New Hampshire through a ban or fee imposed by towns and cities.

PETITION BACKGROUNDWe are writing you today to support HB481 that would permit New Hampshire towns to adopt bylaws to regulate the distribution of certain plastic bags across NH and put forth a ban or fee on the use of single use plastic bags. Plastic bags are an unnecessary environmental hazard since many eco-friendly options exist like canvas shopping bags.

As Greenpeace has stated: “Every year, 15 billion pounds of plastic are produced in the U.S., but only 1 billion are recycled. At a time where many people are trying to find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we are collectively using about 12 million barrels of oil to produce the plastic bags that are used each year. Many of these bags end up on the streets and sidewalks or caught in tree branches. Others wind up in rivers and streams, where they are washed out to sea. Once these bags end up in the oceans, they join other types of plastic trash from around the world and are often swept up in currents to make its way to enormous whirling eddies of trash. The largest, near Hawaii, is more than a thousand miles across and contains more plastic than plankton. Plastic bags and other bits of floating debris are mistaken for food by seabirds, turtles, and other marine life. Up to 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals and turtles die each year as a result of plastic debris.”

We can break ourselves of the plastic bag habit. Some governments and retailers have begun taking steps to phase out plastic bags. San Francisco banned them in 2007, and several countries have either banned or taxed the use of plastic bags. Just recently, Cambridge, Massachusetts passed a ban on plastic bags.

We hope that New Hampshire can be another example of a community that shows environmental responsibility. I encourage you to take a stand and add our state to the growing list of cities and towns that are banning plastic bags.

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the Municipal and County Government Committee: Ban the single use plastic bag New Hampshire!